Unbreakable Bond
by A-Vampire-Chick25
Summary: Even the toughest of chicks can fall truly in love when they find the right person. Faith/OFC
1. Chapter 1

Author:- Real Emma Gray

Start Date:- 14th January 2011

Disclaimer:- I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. They all belong to the brilliant mastermind that is Joss Whedon!

AN:- Ok, this was a story I started on this Buffy fansite, and I was gonna wait until it was finished to put it up here, but I changed my mind. To those who are starting to read this, it is kinda different to all my other stories, as in this story contains a female/female love story. The idea came into my head after reading some of the other stories on the site, and I just had to write it.

ooooOOOOoooo

**UNBREAKABLE BOND**

**Chapter One**

Faith Lehane lay on her back on her bed, sparked out, staring up at the ceiling, the table side lamp the only illumination besides the glare from the full moon pouring into her window. Today had been a long day, like every other recently since she had found herself back in Sunnydale.

She really was thankful for Angel for getting her out of prison. Even living over the Hellmouth was better than that place. Like Spike had told her when they first spoke, though, she had had the power to break free of that place whenever she wanted. She was a Slayer for Christ Sake, no one in that place could take her on and win. But there was one person who was stopping her from just walking right out before her time. Herself.

She had been there for a reason, because she needed to be, she knew that now. She had done so many things in her past that she felt guilty for, from Finch's murder to turning her back on Buffy and all the others who had tried to be friends with her, turning to the dark side. It had taken her a while, but she now she knew just how messed up she had been back then. She had blamed it on her family, on her shitty upbringing compared to Buffy's perfect life… and still did now. But while a large part of her did believe that, believe that she would have turned out a lot different if she had had the life Buffy did, recently, there was that small amount of doubt creeping in. It was telling her that maybe, just maybe, that was all just an excuse she used to get over the fact that she really did have a tendency to the darker side of life.

But, no matter what had happened in the past, she was here, in an unimaginably crowded Summers house, to redeem herself for everything. When The First had started its big battle against the Slayer line and Faith had been attacked in prison, Angel had figured the best place for her was outside of those four concrete walls and back in the real world, where she could fight, make herself useful. She had to admit, it had hurt that once they knew what The First was after, Buffy and her little gang hadn't thought that maybe Faith should be with them, but she was over that now.

When she first stepped foot back in that house, she hadn't been met with a wonderfully warm welcome. She hadn't expected it, of course. Every one of them had reason to hate her after what she had done. But, over time, things had changed. They had all come to realise that she really was there to help, and they had a better chance of winning with her around.

She, however, wasn't all the kick-ass help they had. For a while now, ever since the Council had been destroyed (which, although she would never admit to the others, she thought of as a good thing. They did try and kill her after all), Potential Slayers had been arriving from every corner of the Globe. With no where else to go, no Council to give them a place in the world, they had come to the Hellmouth and to Buffy, hoping she could help them. The house had been getting more and more crowded ever since. Faith was the only one with a room to herself. Best guess? Every Potential in the place had been told the tale of Faith, the Rogue Slayer, and now no one was about to risk sleeping in the same room as her.

But even now, end of the day, in a room all to herself, Faith was still developing a major migraine. Not because of the Potential's upstairs, giggling and yelling over who'd been in the bathroom longest or whose turn it was now. Not because of the latest rant from Buffy, which was still fresh in her mind, about how they needed to be prepared for what was coming. Not even Andrew's incessant rambling voice, which she could hear even now, moaning about some other piece of information he had been kept out of just because he used to be evil, and how come Spike and Faith were let off when they had killed way more people than him.

No, this migraine, as usual, was thanks to the over powerful emotions that were not her own that were invading her mind.

Ever since the Potential's had started crawling out of the woodwork, Faith had been affected in a different way to everyone else. Granted, the constant girly chattering and giggling that seemed to be around the clock still affected her like everyone else in the house, but that wasn't the only thing. Recently, she had noticed feelings that she was 100% sure were not her own invading into her mind. She could be in the best mood possible, having one of her rare good days, but there would be sadness nagging at the back of her brain, vying for supremacy.

At first, it had most definitely confused her. She had thought something was wrong with her, that she couldn't be happy for some reason. And after all the mystery she had caused everyone around her, she sometimes kinda felt like she deserved it, like it was her punishment. But, as the days went by and her advanced Slayer senses kicked in, she was able to recognise these feelings as coming from some external place that was not her own mind.

The others had noticed of course. They'd be blind to miss it, the way her feelings were changing. She could be laughing and joking one minute, and in a flat second, she'd be on the verge of depression. Willow figured it was her proximity to all the Potential's. Slayers always had a connection to each other, even Potential's, so she thought maybe she was picking up on some of their feelings. Faith thought different. She'd been round the girl's, she could see none of them were feeling what she was getting. This was true misery, the kind that was very hard to hide.

With a heavy sigh, Faith swung herself off of bed, dodging past numerous teenage girls as she made her way downstairs. Luckily, the kitchen was one of the only empty rooms in the house. Feeling the growl in her stomach as she sat down, Faith reached for the quickest food she could find, which happened to be the cereal box. She debated whether to stay or take the box, knowing that there was no chance in hell she'd get the kitchen to herself for that long.

As if on cue, a group of the girls walk in, talking louder than is probably necessary as they take Faith's snack time approach, this time grabbing all the cookies they could from the cupboards. Beyond the point of caring right now, Faith simply drops her head into her hands, letting them get on with it. She doesn't even lift her head when they decide to leave, or when she hears two more sets of softer footsteps walk into the room. She just groans loudly.

"Well, hello there, Sunshine!" one of the new kitchen members says. Faith raises her head to see Buffy and Willow now in the kitchen, side by side and stood in front of her over the counter.

"Let's see how 'sunshiny' you'd be if you had to deal with this house full of teenage girls while trying to battle one major migraine," Faith replied, scowling slightly at Buffy.

"You still getting those weird feelings?" Willow asked, actual concern in the red heads voice. Faith just nodded, closing her eyes and gently massaging the sides of her forehead. Like that was gonna do any good! "You just need to learn to control this, Faith. With all these Potentials in the house with all sorts of emotions running through their heads, you're bound to…."

"Listen, Red," Faith butt in, opening her eyes and looking up at the woman. "I appreciate you trying to help, really. But these are not emotions from anyone inside this house I'm feeling. Whoever this is, they're depressed… and I mean truly depressed, not how B gets whenever her latest squeeze dumps her." Faith could see Buffy's offended look, but she carried on.

"Last time I looked, none of the girls in the house are even a little depressed. No sad feelings, just an awful lot of giggling and long, midnight chats that I can hear through the thin ass walls in this house! So why don't you try coming up with a new theory, and a new way for me to get my mind back to myself, instead of spieling off the same crap you always do just to shut me up!"

Faith simply dropped her head back against the table with a heavy thud after her little outburst, not seeing Buffy and Willow staring at her before exchanging a look. Yes, they were used to Faith's mood changes, but she'd never snapped at them the way she had just then.

"Is it really that bad, that intrusive?" Willow asked. For an answer, Faith simply nodded her head where it was, banging it against the counter a couple more times with the motion. "Well… then… there might be something I could do." At this, Faith pulled her head up off the table top.

"And you didn't think it might be a good idea to bring out this little 'something' when I first mention this almost two weeks ago!" Faith pretty much growled at the red head witch, making the girl gulp visibly. She may have been on their side now, but everyone was still aware that Faith was not someone you went out of your way to piss off.

"Well… I just… I thought…." Willow began to babble. "I kinda, really thought it was one of the girls in here you know, what with the Slayer connection thing. And I know they're not Slayers yet, but they're Potential's, and I figured that was, you know, the same thing, because…." Willow met Faith's eyes then, seeing the look she was giving her, and gave up on the babbling for a more coherent train of thought.

"And, honestly, it could be… kinda dangerous. For both me and you."

"Well, if we can get this sorted out, I'm ok with 'kinda dangerous'," Faith said, jumping to her feet, seemingly in a better mood now. "So, what do we need to do?"

ooooOOOOoooo

About half an hour later, Faith and Willow were sat cross legged opposite each other on the dining room table, a bowl of some herbs that Faith had never even heard of mixed together in a bowl between them, a white candle either side of that. Buffy was stood off to the side of them, insurance in case anything did go wrong.

"So let me get this right," Faith said again for about the tenth time. "With the help of this stinky mix here, you're gonna have a little walk through my mind and find out whose frequency I'm tapping into."

"Basically… yeah," Willow told her with a smile, not at all helping to comfort Faith.

"What you guys doing, a spell or something?" Faith heard Kennedy's voice beside her, turning to see Willow's girl and Dawn walking in from the kitchen.

"No, I'm sat on the table because it's so darn comfy up here," Faith quipped.

"Well, whatever it is, I hope it gets rid of the Little Miss Grumpy attitude you've developed," Dawn stated, glaring at Faith.

"Here's hoping, Squirt," Faith said with an over exaggerated smile.

"This person clearly has a link with your mind that maybe they don't even know about," Willow continued with her explanation. "The idea of this spell is to sort of reverse that link, use it to backtrack and see whose emotions it is you've been picking up on recently."

"I thought we agreed that was just the abundance Potentials we have here," Giles said as he too walked in, over hearing their conversation.

"Not so much anymore," Willow said. "From what Faith has been saying about the emotions she's picking up, it doesn't sound like it can be any of these girls."

"What's going on in here?" another voice asked as Xander walked into the room with his attached-at-the-hip, not-really-a-girlfriend girlfriend Anya.

"Geez guys, what I am, a circus sideshow or something!" Faith groaned out as the crowd round her began to grow.

"Am I expected to answer that?" Xander asked with a smirk at Faith.

"Sure… if you wanna loose an appendage. And guess which ones going first," Faith growled at Xander, giving him that look that everyone in the house knew to be careful of. Xander just gulped, backing up and crossing his legs as if in protection of his 'appendage'. "Let's just get this over and done with."

"Get what over and done with?" Spike's voice added to the mix as he strolled into the kitchen, that ever present black leather jacket billowing behind him.

"Oh for the love of…." Faith moaned before putting that fake smile back on. "Come on in, join the party. Every bugger else has!"

"Well, don't mind if I do," Spike smirked, leaning casually against the doorframe to watch over the proceedings.

"Look, can we just do this, and do this quickly," Buffy said, moving closer to the table.

"I second that motion," Faith said, turning to Willow. "Get your magic on, Red. Let's see how good you are."

"Ok, well, this is all pretty simple. It just relies on concentration," Willow said. "So, first, you need to take the candle on your left." Faith did so, picking it up as Willow took the other one.

"Now, when I put the flame to my side of the bowl, you do the same," Willow said, before she began muttering softly in what Faith thought was probably Latin, though she didn't understand a word of it. All these types of spells were usually in Latin, right?

Watching Willow's hand rather than focusing on the words, when she saw it tip towards the bowl she did the same, the flames touching either side of the mixture at the same time. When it did, whatever was in the bowl seemed to separate, giving a different reaction to the flame. While Willow's flamed glowed the natural orange of live fire, Faith's side had immediately began to burn an intense raven black, so dark she it looked like her side of the mixture had burnt to a crisp.

"Ok, now I need you to take my hands," Willow said, holding both her hands across the table for Faith to take. "And completely empty your mind to allow me in."

"That shouldn't be difficult, there's not too much in there to empty," Dawn muttered, just loud enough for Faith to hear. She turned to the Slayer's little sis, ready to snap, but the sharp pull on her hands brought her attention back to Willow.

"Just sit and don't do anything," Willow told her. "I'll do most of the work."

Faith, complied, closing her eyes and trying to just relax. This wasn't exactly an easy task for her, but if it got rid of the migraines, she'd do anything.

After a few moments of just sitting there, Faith suddenly felt a push into her mind, an intruder. Automatically, her brain built up defences, trying not to let the invader in.

"Faith, you need to relax and let me in for this to work," Willow's voice said, and Faith was aware that the voice was in her head, not spoke aloud for all the room to hear. Apparently, Red's spell had actually worked. After what Faith had heard about last time Willow used magic, she wasn't too sure she was stable enough to do the spell and not going all murderer on them again.

"Hypocrite," Faith heard Willow's voice again, which confused her. What the hell was the witch on about, and who was she talking to. What confused her more was Red's laughter that followed.

"I'm in your mind, Faith," she explained to her. "I can hear what you're thinking. And you should know better than anyone that being a killer in the past doesn't mean you can't change in the present."

"Sorry, Red," Faith replied, in her mind this time, catching on quickly they could now speak like this. "After what B told me about the last time you used magic, I guess I was a little weary since it is my brain you're invading."

"I'll be in and out quickly, I promise," Willow joked. "Now we just need to see if we can find… hang on, I think I've got the connection."

One moment, Faith was staring into darkness, the backs of her eyes. Now, it was like she was travelling through the streets at high speed, houses, cars and trees flying past her in a blur. For a moment, she felt like she was gonna throw up from the images flashing across her eyes, but they began to slow down gradually. Now they were just travelling down a street, looking at each house, searching for something. The images soon slowed even more, stopping outside one house. Slowly, Faith's vision zoomed into the upstairs bedroom. Inside was who she figured had been getting into her mind.

The bedroom was a pretty typical young girl's room. Lilac painted walls, books, papers and CD's littering the desk and photos of friends pinned up on her wall. There was a uniform lay out on the chair in the corner, one that Faith recognised from coffee bar, The Espresso Pump. Lying on the bed, curled into a foetal position, was a young girl that only looked to be a few years younger than Faith. She was wearing baggy clothes that didn't help Faith see how tall she was, or what kinda figure she had. Her short hair was covering her face as she lay, sobbing gently. Even without knowing what she was crying over, Faith could feel the pain coming from this girl. Faith wasn't sure if it was because of the connection or not, but she instantly felt sorry for her.

Before she knew it, Faith was pulled out of the girl's room, opening her eyes to see she was still sitting on the table in Buffy's dining room, but she was no longer holding Willow's hands and the young witch was slumped slightly in front of her, breathing heavily.

"Sorry," Willow breathed out. "The connection was too strong to hold, I was pulled out too soon."

"It's ok, Will," Buffy said. "At least you know who it is now."

"Yeah, but I couldn't tell anything about her or where she might be from what I saw," Willow said, her breathing back to normal now. "That house looked like any other round here, and I didn't catch a street name. But, now we backtracked on the connection and I still have that in my mind, a locator spell should find her easy enough."

"Willow, sweetie, are you sure you're well enough to do another spell after that one?" Kennedy asked her, concerned.

"Yeah," Willow said, hopping off the table, Faith following. "A locator spell is simple compared to what I just did. Using a mind as strong willed as Faith to explore another mind just as strong is a difficult thing."

"You say this girl also had a strong mind, very similar to Faith's?" Giles asked Willow. She nodded, but before she could answer, Faith spoke up.

"Yeah, even I could feel it. I think you guys were original right on one part. I think she might be a Potential," Faith said.

"Another one so close and we didn't know about her?" Buffy questioned.

"It's not that surprising," Giles said. "Rona is proof that not all of the Potential's are aware of their heritage from birth like Faith, or even Kendra where. It could be that perhaps this girl hasn't yet been given a Watcher, and the Council were destroyed before they got the chance to find her."

"Not like the Council were ever up on their game while they were around anyone," Anya muttered, and Faith couldn't help but smile.

"She's got a point," she said, pulling away from the table as in the background, Willow set up for her locator spell.

"Anything you got from the girl Faith, what with your connection and all?" Buffy asked her.

"Well, I think I get the whole depressed thing now," Faith said. "The girl hasn't got the best home life. I couldn't hear it, but I think the parents were yelling somewhere, I could feel that from her. And I sorta got that maybe her mother isn't the only one her father yells at… and it might not stop at yelling."

"If that's the case, maybe it would be good for us to find her fast and get her back here away from her father," Buffy said. "The more Potentials we have to help, the better."

"That might not be the best idea right off," Giles told them, continuing at the looks from the two Slayers stood in front of him. "It seems clear that this girl has grown up in an abusive household full of fighting, and not knowing her heritage, I can image has more then likely grown a tolerance away from violence. Taking her from one lot of violence and expecting her to fight, be the cause of another, is not fair on this young girl. It may traumatise her. Rona had a perfectly normal life, yet she did not take too kindly to being told to fight, imagine what this girl might do. I think the best idea might be to ease her into all this, allow Faith to get close to her."

"Me?" Faith questioned. "Why me? Buffy's the people person, I simply kill things."

"You have this connection for a reason, Faith, I suggest we use it," Giles continued. "If you could befriend this girl first, pull her away from that life or violence and gain her trust, perhaps we could help ease her into the idea that she is a Potential Slayer."

Before Faith could say anything to that, there was a bright orange spark from the table. Apparently, while they had been discussing just how to get round this girl, Willow had already completed her locator spell.

"I've got her," Willow announced. "She's in the cemetery, which can't be a good thing."

"Are you sure it's our girl?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, I used the connection I could still feel from what I got in Faith's mind to find the right girl."

Every eye in the room turned to Faith, clearly waiting for her to do something.

"I guess I'm taking patrol duty tonight then."

Snatching her coat from the banister and a stake from the table, Faith went out in the night to see if she could finally, once and for all, find a way to get rid of her migraines.

ooooOOOOoooo

AN:- Ok, also my first attempt at a Buffy story, so what do you guys think? R&R, please!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:- I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. Just Angelica, she is my very own creation.

AN:- Ok, second chapter. As usual, I always wanna know what you guys think, so please, R&R!

ooooOOOOoooo

**UNBREAKABLE BOND**

**Chapter Two**

Willow was right. A young girl alone in a Sunnydale Cemetery this time of night could only mean one thing. Vampires.

As a Slayer, that should have worried Faith. She was the good guy, meant to save people from vampires. But Faith had that one advantage when it came to this girl, and the radar on her emotions wasn't telling her that the girl was scared. Until she was, Faith wasn't about to go running through the streets like a mad woman.

At the moment, this young girl's ever present emotion of sadness was all Faith could felt, and it was killing her as much as it was the girl. Every time she felt that wave of overwhelming sadness, Faith had been reminded of her past, of how awful her life had been before she had found out about her up and coming destiny. But even despite getting away from her alcoholic excuse for a mother, Faith still hadn't forgotten everything, had still let it lead her choices. She had been so used to fending for herself that she had shunned anyone who had tried to help or befriend her, made life changing mistakes that she had fooled herself into believing were all down to her life and not the fact that she just might have been that type of person. With her newly changed attitude, Faith was pretty sure on one thing. She did not want this girl to turn out like she had.

Occasionally, Faith had felt one strong emotion from this girl that she most definitely remembered having herself when she was younger. She had felt her need to give in, to end her life just so she could finally be free from all the pain she was living with. During those times, Faith had wished more than anything that she could have known who this girl was. She had wanted to go to her, stop her from feeling that way, make sure she knew that there was a life beyond all the hurt she felt at home.

Suddenly, alarm bells starting ringing off in Faith's head. This girl wasn't sad anymore, the fear had kicked in. Which could only mean that she wasn't alone in the cemetery.

Not too far from the cemetery now, Faith broke into a run, skidding through the cemetery gates to find a young girl being backed into a crypt by a vampire who was slowly advancing on her, scaring the poor girl just for his own amusement. Her feet padding quietly on the ground, even through the run, Faith came up behind the vampire, grabbing the back of his clothes and forcefully tugging him away, sending him flying through the air. The vampire crashed into a headstone, cracking it in two, but that didn't even seem to faze him. He merely stood right back up, more confused by the girl who had just thrown him quite a few feet through the air.

"You just interrupted my meal, Sweetheart," the vampire growled at her. "Really not a clever idea."

"See, now I happen to think it was genius, but I guess that's just me," Faith quipped back, circling the vampire as he did the same to her.

"Let's see how you feel when I eat you for dessert," the vampire went on, leaving off with the circling and just leaping at Faith in his confidence. What he didn't expect was the quick side step from Faith, sending him sprawling across the ground in an awkward heap of undead limbs.

Pissed off now, the vampire gave off another feral growl, jumping to his feet and attacking Faith with fists and feet. Faith easily blocked each blow he sent her way, getting in a lot more than a few of her own. But this vampire was not easily put off, getting angrier by the minute. So much so that his next blow hit the mark, a heavy blow to Faith's stomach that sent her flying backwards.

Smiling smugly, thinking he finally had the upper hand, the vampire moved to Faith, teeth barred as he hovered over her, moving lower in an attempt to sink his teeth into what he hoped would be his first meal of the night. The stomach hit, however, had not left Faith down for long, her legs coming up to forcefully push the vampire away from her. Unfortunately, Faith didn't have that much guidance to aim the vamp where she wanted to, so he ended up sprawled in front of the young girl's feet, causing her to scream and scamper away. The vampire no longer seemed all too interested in her though. He was suddenly more interested in the mystery girl who was putting up one hell of a fight.

"Who, or what, the hell are you?" he asked as he staggered to his feet.

"Are you really that dense?" Faith quipped at him. "Let me make it simple for you," she finished, pointing at him.

"You, vampire." She turned her finger, pointing at herself now. "Me, Slayer." With that last line, the vampire's eyes suddenly went wide, realisation sinking in quickly, along with fear now.

"See, now that's the kind of reaction I was looking for," Faith said, standing with hands on her hips and her stake now in hand. The vampire's cocky, overly confident demeanour was back though as he stood straight, smirking at Faith.

"Well, lucky me. Guess I get the pleasure of taking out a Slayer. I can't wait to see what your blood taste like." With that, he began to take another running start at Faith, eyes gleaming and teeth barred.

"As if!" Faith said, getting bored of this. Usually she would welcome a good fight with a vampire, relish it. But right now, her thoughts were simply on the young girl she had come here to save.

As the vampire got closer, Faith simply side stepped him again, the arm with the stake in this time coming up to bury the wooden weapon into the demon's heart, feeling the weapon puncture dead skin and hearing the pained grunt from her attacker. Faith pulled the stake from his heart, watching as his eyes went wide for a second, clutching at his chest, before he dissolved into ash, the night breeze wafting it through the cemetery.

Her mind now free to focus on the matter at hand, Faith was once again bombarded with the young girl's feelings. While she had been fighting, she had been able to zone out, forget her own emotions let alone those of the girl. But now, she could once again feel her, and the minute the vampire had turned to dust, she had felt the level of fear in this girl go up a notch, total confusion at what she was seeing.

Eyes searching the graveyard, Faith now found her on the floor by a tree, shaking out of something she did not think was cold, her eyes slightly glazed and focused on the spot where the vampire had disappeared. Though when Faith took a step towards her, the young girl suddenly came back to the now, whimpering slightly and trying to back up even closer to the tree, away from Faith.

"Hey, I ain't gonna hurt you," Faith said, stopping in front of the girl. She didn't move, just continued to sit shaking, her head buried into her arms which were wrapped round her knees. "Are you ok? Did he get you?" In response, the girl just shook her head, not moving. Wanting to get through to her, Faith knelt, putting her on eye level with the girl.

"Look, if I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have just saved you, ok. You can trust me you're safe now," Faith said, trying to keep her voice soft in order to calm the girl, but she still had that urge to just scream at her that she was being just another stupid, frightened normal. The old Faith probably would have, without a second's hesitation. This Faith though, the one that could feel just how scared and confused this girl in front of her was, knew the best thing was to keep her calm.

Slowly, the girl raised her head slightly, letting her short, dark hair fall across her face and obscure her vision. Her eyes, however, were looking up at Faith through the strands of hair.

"How about we get up of the wet ground, ok," Faith said, standing and holding her hand out to the girl. "These are my best pants."

Finally calming slightly, going as far as to even smile slightly at Faith's comment, the girl took her hand, letting Faith pull her gently to her feet. Her face however, was still staring intently down at her feet.

"What's your name?" Faith asked, leaning down slightly to try and get a good look at this young woman who was a couple of inches shorter than herself.

"Angelica… Guivanni," the girl answered with a short stammer, and finally looked up to lock eyes with Faith.

Now, during Faith's past and her sexual attitude of 'get some and get gone', she had never really been picky about who she had let into her bed… women included. And during that time, she had come to one firm conclusion. Women could be a hell of a lot more fun! Now, she wasn't about to say she had totally switched teams, like Red seemed to have. If some stud of a guy wanted to get into her pants, she wasn't about to turn him down, no way. But when a beautiful woman crossed her path, she wasn't about to turn her down either. And this girl….

Faith could now see that Angelica really did fall into the beautiful category. She hadn't been able to see her when Willow had started her little vision quest or whatever that had been in Faith's mind. Now, however, Faith could see the young girls figure, standing just a few inches shorter than her own, had curves in all the right places, even through the slightly baggy clothes she was wearing. Her raven black hair fell to neatly frame her face, stopping in a short bob on her shoulders. And with her pale, creamy skin and full, ruby red lips, this girl seemed to be the living realisation of Snow White. Except for her eyes, and it was her eyes that captivated Faith most. In contrast with her dark hair, they were a deep electric blue. And as Faith stared into those eyes now locked with hers, she could see so much hidden in their depth. Yes, Faith might have been able to read this girl's feelings, but she was getting so much more from her amazingly expressive eyes. She could see all the bad times she had to go through in her life, all the arguments between her parents she had been forced to sit and listen to when she was young, all the heartbreak and pain she had to endure now at the hands of her family. But most of all, she could see Angelica's strong need to pull away from that, to find a place where she would be accepted, where people would truly care about her for her.

Which was where Faith and her destiny came in.

"Well, Angelica, I'm Faith," Faith told the girl, smiling sweetly at her. Angelica smiled back, but Faith could see it was forced. "What are you even doing out her in the middle of the night?"

"I just… needed… needed to get out of my house for… for a while," Angelica told her, that stutter of hers seemingly permanent. Faith, however, couldn't help but think it was adorable.

"Probably not the brightest idea, as you just saw," Faith told her. "I think you need to be at home instead."

"Right… it's just I… I mean I thought… I just…. Right," Angelica fumbled over her words before she began walking in the direction Faith guessed was home. She smiled to herself, letting the girl walk ahead a few steps, before jogging up to walk beside her, falling into pace with Angelica.

"What are you…?" Angelica said once she realised Faith was beside her again.

"I'm walking you home," Faith told her simply. "I figured it was the best thing in case you got jumped again, and I kinda don't want you getting hurt." Angelica smiled at the last comment, and compared to her last smile, Faith figured this one was real.

"Thanks," she said, falling into a small silence before she continued. "What… what was that… that _guy_ or… whatever, back there? I mean when you… when you… stabbed him… he just… I mean he… he…."

"Turned to dust," Faith finished, Angelica nodding.

"Yeah, and… and normal people don't… do that," she said. "So what… what was he. I mean, you… you seemed to know."

"Yeah," Faith said. "Well, how long have you lived in Sunnydale?"

"About… 6 months," Angelica answered. "And I've not really… been out that much in… in that time."

"What, you've not been out with any mates or anything like that?" Faith asked, and Angelica shook her head. "No night out with the girls from work?"

"I'm at college, and no one… no one really pays that much at… attention to me," Angelica answered, lowering her head again. And Faith felt yet another added pang of sympathy for this girl.

"Well," Faith began. "The first thing you need to know is that Sunnydale isn't exactly your average Cali town. There's a lot more below the surface that half the people who live here never have to see."

"Things like… like what?" Angelica asked.

"Like what you just saw," Faith told her. "That thing I just killed back there, that attacked you. That was a vampire. They're real, and there are a hell of a lot more of them in this town."

After Faith said that, Angelica went silent, just staring up at Faith as they continued walking. Faith could almost see the cogs turning in the girl's head as she thought over what Faith had just told her. Whether she should believe her, or run for the hills from this crazy woman beside her.

"Oh," Angelica simply said after a moment, turning back to watch where they were going.

" 'Oh'?" Faith repeated. "I tell you vampires are real and this town practically over run with them. And all you have to say is 'oh'."

"Well… what else can I say?" Angelica replied. "I mean… I just saw it. Right in front of my… my face. You stabbed him…."

"Staked him," Faith corrected her.

"Fine, you… you _staked _him, whatever. But he just… he just turned to dust. And I saw it. I can't ex… explain it, but I saw it. I'm not gonna deny it. So I guess… I guess I gotta believe you. You were the one who… killed him after… after all. You seem to know some… something. By the way… how… how do you know about v… vampires?"

"Well, while there are vampires, there are also vampire slayers. They fight them, keep them from killing people. And I'm a vampire slayer."

"Cool."

Faith smiled at that. Getting through to this girl might be a lot easier than everyone seemed to think it was going to be.

They continued they're walk back to Angelica's home, talking companionably along the way. They talked like they were old friends, any moments of silence often filled with talks about nonsense things, just as long as they were talking. As they went on, Angelica's cute little stammer even lessened as she got more confident around Faith. All in all… it was kinda nice. For the first time, it seemed that Angelica was giving off some emotion other then sadness.

In no time at all, Angelica stopped them outside her house, the nerves coming back a little now.

"We're here," she said softly to Faith, her focus transfixed on the floor again.

"Right," Faith said with a soft smile. "You know, considering you seem to be new to this Underworld portion of our town, I think you need someone to watch out for you, teach you a little bit."

"And… you're offering?" Angelica asked, and Faith could hear the slightly hopeful tone in the young girl's voice.

"Of course!" Faith laughed. "Why, were you hoping I would suggest someone else." At that, Angelica's eyes suddenly shot up to Faith.

"No, no… not at all. I just meant… I mean I thought… I was…." Angelica began to babble again. Laughing slightly, Faith stepped up beside her, wrapping her arm companionable round her shoulders.

"I was just messing with you," Faith told her. The minute Faith's arm went round Angelica, she could feel the girl lean into her, even though she hadn't even known her for a day. Clearly, this girl really was starved of any kind of affectionate touch.

"I just…." Angelica began. "I guess I couldn't see how someone like you could want to hang round with… with someone like me." Faith pulled slightly out of the girls hold, her arm still round her but pulled back enough that she could hold eye contact with her.

"You're a sweet girl, Angelica, really you are. You don't need to put yourself down."

Angelica smiled at that, another one of her genuine smiles that was truly incredible. Opening her mouth to reply to Faith, she was interrupted as the door was abruptly yanked open beside them, Angelica quickly pulling away from Faith as she saw the figure stood in the open doorway.

"Where the hell have you been?" the figure growled at her. This man was clearly Angelica's father, and Faith immediately got a bad vibe from him. Not only from the way he had growled at the girl, or the look on his face as he flicked between the two of them. There was just someone about the man that was… well, for lack of a better word, evil.

"I'm… I'm sorry, I was… I was… I was just… just out and… and…." Angelica tried to get out, her stammer worse than Faith had heard it all night.

"She was just out with me," Faith told the man, coming to Angelica's rescue.

"And you are?" Angelica's father asked, leering at Faith. Involuntarily, Faith felt a shudder run through her body as his eyes took in all of her.

"Faith Lehane," Faith answered, keeping down her impulse to punch this guy for Angelica's sake. "I'm a friend of Angelica's." From the corner of her eye, Faith could see Angelica blush and smile slightly as Faith used the word 'friend'.

"Really," he said, his eyes looking over at his smiling daughter, his attention now on her. "You know you're not supposed to be out this late. Get inside!" As he finished speaking, Angelica's father took a tight hold on her arm, pulling her forcibly into the house.

"Hey!" Faith exclaimed. "You wanna be a little gentler with her."

"She's my property, not yours," he answered. "I can do what I want with her."

And with that, the door was slammed in Faith's face, Angelica on the other side with her monster of a father. Again, all Faith wanted to do was kick that door in and pull Angelica away from him. She could feel the fear the girl was feeling, even if she couldn't hear the yelling through the door. But she had to remain calm… for now, anyway. Even if the girl had been ok with the whole vampire and slayer thing, she had still seen the look on her face during the fight. Being in a house dominated by violence, she had truly grown to hate it. And as much as Faith wanted to pull Angelica out that house now, she wouldn't be pulling her into safety. If anything, she would be in even more life threatening danger in this big fight. For now, Faith had to resign herself to the fact that she knew who the girl was now, and she was gonna make sure she had someone who would be there for her.

ooooOOOOoooo

"So was it her?"

That was the greeting Faith had received when she walked back through the door, Buffy and Willow bombarding her with the questions even when her mind was a jumble of thoughts, and she wanted nothing more that to just go to bed and sleep until midday tomorrow. Or later.

"Yeah, it was her," Faith answered, hoping she could just get away.

"And?" Buffy question. "Anything you might want to tell us about her?"

"Her names Angelica," Faith began to spiel off. "She just moved to town about 6 months ago, and she's a bit of a loner, even if it's not by choice. I was right about her dad. From what I saw, he was a bit of an abusive bastard. I'm not to sure about the whole Potential thing, she didn't show much of those qualities, but I guess that will probably come later. And she seemed ok with the whole vampire thing, considering she watched me slay one and simple accepted the there were vampires in this town. That enough for you?"

The things Faith left out about the girl was the fact that she was a sweetheart, knew how to hold a conversation, she could talk with her about anything and everything, she had the most adorable stutter… and Faith had already figured she was pretty much physically attracted to her.

"Yeah, I don't think there's much more you can tell us," Willow said, and Faith was immediately heading up the stairs at those words. "Where are you going?"

"To bed," Faith answered, not even stopping and turning to the two women, simply carrying on until she was in her room. Once inside, she simply collapsed, not even bothering to get changed or anything. After everything, she was just too tired.

She just lay there on her bed, concentrating on the connection she could still feel with Angelica. The fact that she knew this girl now, could see her in her mind as she felt the connection, made this all the more real. The fear she had felt when she was with her dad was gone, meaning he couldn't be anywhere nearby. And the sadness and depression she usually felt streaming off her late at night… not there, either. Inside, Faith could feel an emotion coming from this girl she had very rarely felt, maybe never. Right now, Angelica was happy. Faith was filled with peace and content coming from her as Angelica drifted off to sleep easily.

Smiling to herself as she closed in her in sleep, Faith couldn't help but hope that maybe that was because of her.

ooooOOOOoooo

AN:- You know what I'm gonna say by now! Opinion are always wanted and welcome! LOL!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer:- I do not own Buffy or any of the characters. But no one can stop my dreams!

AN:- Ok, three uploads in one day, that's gotta be some kind of a record for me! LOL! Anyway, hope you enjoy!

ooooOOOOoooo

**UNBREAKABLE BOND**

**Chapter Three**

Faith, Buffy and a group of the Potentials stumbled through the door to the Summers house. What they had hoped would be a relatively uneventful teaching session for the girls had turned into the whole group being forced to kill demons. Demons that exploded into a hell of a lot of slime, now apparent by the state the girls were in, dripping goo on the floor as they walked.

They had no idea what kind of demon they had just fought, but right now, Faith didn't really care all that much. What she cared about was getting out of her ruined clothes and washing the slime off of herself. So, while Buffy and the Potentials went to tell Giles and Willow what had happened tonight, Faith did the smart thing and headed for the shower before anyone else could. If they let any more Potentials in this house, they were gonna need another bathroom… and a couple more bedrooms.

Once she was stripped and had the shower at the right temperature, Faith stood under the soothing stream, sighing in contentment as the hot water began to relieve her aching muscles. Her clothes had stopped the majority of the goo getting on her skin, but it was caked in her hair. Four washes and it was just about out, her hair back to its normal brown instead of streaked with green.

With her hair clean, Faith just relaxed under the massaging pressure of the hot water, waiting for the inevitable knock that would tell Faith her turn was over. That, however, was not what had Faith scrambling out of the shower stall. It was the emotions that flooded her mind and body, negative emotions of sadness and despair. Angelica's emotions.

It had been a month now since Faith had finally figured what, or who, was behind her strange emotions and had met Angelica… and it had taken a lot less than that for her to become completely attached to the young girl. Which is why it hurt her so much every time she felt these emotions, knowing just what the cause of them was.

Every time she went to see Angelica, took her home after a bad night, the time when she left her there was getting harder and harder. Someone she cared about was living in a situation she wouldn't ever dream on her worst enemy, and all she wanted to do was save her from it. But on the other hand, she couldn't justify taking her from one bad environment to another. Angelica may have been ok with the whole Slayer and vampire thing, but she didn't want to put her in a life or death situation. So, for now at least, Faith would do whatever she could for the girl until they figured she was ready and trusted Faith enough to deal with this. Right now, Faith was concerned with what happened when those feelings went… beyond just trust. Because lately, the feelings Faith was getting from Angelica when she was around her….

Her hair still falling in wet tendrils down her back, Faith slipped into the first item of clothing she could find and took the stairs about three at a time. As she grabbed her jacket from the chair she had thrown it on, Buffy, who was still speaking with Willow and Giles, turned to her.

"Faith, I was just telling Will… where are you going?" Buffy asked as she noticed Faith simply grab her jacket and head to the door.

"To stop this migraine in its tracks," Faith said as she left, letting the door swing shut behind her. Buffy just shrugged, going back to the demon discussion. She knew exactly where Faith was going, even without further explanation.

ooooOOOOoooo

Angelica skittered around the room, picking up the papers and other items that were strewn around the place. She couldn't really see what she was doing properly, her eyes were that blurred with tears, but that didn't matter. She was just looking for something to keep herself busy.

She wanted out. She hated this life she was forced to live, no one deserved the things she was put through. But when she ever said anything about getting out, it didn't go down too well. Her father would go completely mad, and her mother… her mother did nothing as usual, choosing instead to drink herself into a stupor. More than anything she wanted to get out on her own, but the truth was… she was scared. Terrified even.

There were so many things she wanted out of her life that she couldn't get while under her father's control. She wanted to be able to get a good education, do something important with her life. She wanted an actual social life, to be able to go out whenever she wanted with those few people she could really call her friends. She wanted someone to love who would really love her, to know what it felt like to have someone truly care about her. Basically, all Angelica really wanted was a life she could call her own.

Before Angelica could stop herself, she let the sobs take over, her knees giving way as she collapsed to the floor amidst the papers.

"Hey, Angel," she heard a familiar female voice behind her. Not in the least bit shocked, Angelica turned to see Faith stood in her room by her open window. More than the voice, it was the use of the name 'Angel' that told her who it was. Faith was the only person who called her that.

"Should have guessed you'd show up soon," Angelica said, forcing a fake smile. "I have a bad day and suddenly you're there."

"You know me, always here to help," Faith replied, moving away from the window and towards Angelica. Her eyes scanned the mess of a room Angelica was sat in, but said nothing about it, like she never did. In the same way that she never said a thing about it when she came in to find her sobbing the way she just had. Instead, she crossed the room and knelt beside Angelica, gently brushing back a piece of stray hair behind her ear. "You look tired."

Angelica just mumbled softly, leaning towards her slightly. Faith stood up, gently lifting Angelica with her. She placed her on the bed, tucking her feet up and under the blankets, then, as usual, slipped into the bed beside her. Instantly, Angelica moved, curling next to Faith. On the nights Faith came over when she felt Angelica's emotions, she had learnt that this seemed to be the best way to calm her. Just lying with her, holding her on the nights like tonight when she chose to curl up to her. And as much as Faith herself really didn't mind too much on those nights, she wasn't sure if recently, laying this close to Angelica was a good thing.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened tonight?" Faith asked once they were both comfortable.

"Same as always, what's really to tell," Angelica said, her head buried against Faith's shoulder, not moving even when she spoke.

"That doesn't stop me from asking, and it ain't gonna stop me from caring either," Faith said, her hand softly running through Angelica's hair without her being fully aware she was actually doing it. "So… tell me."

"Like I said, situation normal," Angelica said, relaxing into Faith's touch. "I just… I don't know how much longer I… I can last here. And I think that mi… might be in the… literal sense, Faith. I hate living like this… so scared to actually… actually… well, live. You read about cases like… like this, you know… kids hav… having terrible family lives. You just never… never think you'll be… one of them. Yet I'm stuck here… trapped… and I don't know what… what… what I did to get here. I try… so hard… but it seems like everything I do is… is wrong. And I don't know ho… how to make it ri… right. I so wanna make it… right Faith. I want a normal life… as simple as. Just what every other p… person on this p… planet gets the luxury of having with… without trying. Is that really such a te… terrible thing for me to ask for… Fa… Faith."

Again, the sobs and tears that had stopped when Faith had lifted her off the floor started up again, Angelica's head still buried into Faith's shoulder as she gripped to her.

"Oh, Angelica, I… I wish… it's just that…." Faith found herself stammering, sounding like the young girl crying in her arms. "I just… wish I could do something more for you. I hate seeing you in this much pain."

Funny thing? Faith actually meant all that. She cared about this girl and hated leaving her in a situation she knew all too well. She had spent years in an environment like this, and Angelica was the last person who deserved this. And to make matters worse, she blamed herself for everything.

"You do enough," Angelica said, turning to look up at Faith finally. "Just having someone around who c… cares about me… is more than enough."

"Come on, Angelica, even if you don't get it here, I know you have friends," Faith said, trying to cheer her up like she always did.

"Yeah, I have those few friends left who my dad's yet to scare away, but no one like you," Angelica said, cuddling closer into Faith's body. And with that movement came a slight wince of pain that Angelica tried to hide. But Faith saw it, and knew exactly what it meant.

"Where this time, sweets?" Faith asked softly, pulling back a little to look down at her.

"Where… what are you t… talking about," Angelica said with a clearly forced laugh. "You know, I… I just think…."

"Angelica… where?"

There was no hiding the truth from Faith, Angelica knew that. So, giving in, Angelica manoeuvred her body, motioning to Faith. Faith looked her squarely in the eyes for a second before she rose the hem of her pyjama top just a little, until it was sat just below her breasts, still covering them. But it was enough to see the start of a rather nasty looking bruise forming across her ribs. Her anger getting the most of her, Faith growled as she slammed her head back against the pillow, the arm that was still around Angelica tightening slightly.

"I'm ok, Faith," Angelica tried to reassure her, pulling her top straight and lying back beside Faith.

"No you're not," Faith said, her anger still evident. "You're so far from fine, and every time I come down I leave you here. I hate myself for it, but I do it the same. I just wish… well, there's a lot I wish, but…."

"I'm ok, Faith," Angelica repeated, stronger, enough so to get Faith to look at her. "The fact that you do come when I need you is… perfect."

"Thanks," Faith said with a smile, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "Like I said, I tend to worry when you're in pain."

"Yet that seems to always be the time when you show up," Angelica mumbled. "You know, I've… I have been wondering things about you lately."

"Oh, and what have you been wondering about me?" Faith inquired.

"I don't know, it's just that…. Well, I've known you for a month now, and it seems like you're only ever here when I'm in a bad emotional place. Not that I don't appreciate it, because believe me, I do, but I just… God, you're gonna think I'm crazy when I say this."

"I would never think you were crazy, so just tell me."

"Well… the way you just appear when I seem to need you the most, it's sort of like you're… you're not real, but… my own personal Guardian Angel."

"You know, I've been called a lot of things over the years, most of them terrible, but that…."

"I'm being serious, Faith. It's like you're always watching over me. I can be totally depressed and at the edge, wishing for no one but you to show up… and them there you are. Just like magic."

"This appearing by magic… good or bad thing?"

"Most definitely a good thing. Very good."

Angelica's voice was slightly mumbled, trailing off quieter at the end, and she almost instinctively snuggled closer to Faith, positioning her head comfortably in the crook of her shoulder.

"Tired?" Faith asked softly.

"Mmmm hmmm," Angelica answered sleepily.

"You should get some sleep."

"Does that mean you're gonna be staying the night then."

"If that's what you want."

"It's what I want."

Again, Angelica moved closer to Faith, her body curled along the full length of Faith's body. Faith moved herself, practically curling herself around Angelica, holding the girl tightly to her as, in what seemed like merely a matter of minutes, Angelica fell into a peaceful sleep, her breathing growing even against Faith's shoulder. But even though she knew she'd be there most of the night, like she usually was, Faith could not find that same level of peaceful sleep she envied in Angelica.

Like when she was in her own bed, Faith just lay staring up at the ceiling. The one difference here was the beautiful young girl pressed against her side, not that she was gonna argue that fact. She wasn't the kind of girl who liked to snuggle at all, yet, for some odd reason, being like this with Angelica felt right. But there in lay the problem.

Since this whole business with Angelica had started, Faith had gotten close enough to her that sometimes, she wasn't sure if the things she felt were coming from herself or Angelica, especially when they were this physically close. Which is why she figured the things she were feeling now had to be coming from Angelica. Because she never had feelings for anyone, she was a one night stand kind of girl. Yet whenever she was around Angelica, she just wanted to stay. They had to be Angelica's emotions, they just had to be. Because she knew Angelica's feelings, had done since she started having them. And if her mind wasn't messing with her… did that mean she felt the same?

Her always chaotic mind slowing slightly when Angelica mumbled softly in her sleep in kind of an adorable way, shifting against Faith again, Faith let her mind and body drift into sleep, a small smile gracing her lips.

ooooOOOOoooo

When Angelica woke up next morning, the first thing she did was stretch her sleep ridden muscles. And the first thing she noticed was that Faith was gone, as usual. She always managed to persuade Faith to stay while she slept, though she had to admit it didn't take much, but she had no control over making Faith stay for the whole night. And Angelica hated that.

Thanks to her father, Angelica had lived quite a sheltered life. That sheltered life, along with her father himself and his 'treatment', had changed Angelica, the way she was around people and having a definite effect on her confidence. And all that meant that any friends she made didn't last that long, and guys rarely looked her way. Now the lack of friends bothered her a little, but the lack of a love life never had. 21 years old, she had never actually had a proper boyfriend, and that fact had never really entered into her mind. Until now.

Being around Faith, Angelica had learnt a whole range of emotions she had no idea existed within her life. She actually smiled when she was around Faith, felt happy for the first time, and was at peace during the nights instead of being scared to fall asleep. On the nights when Faith let her fall asleep in her arms, Angelica's normal nightmares were replaced by sweet, peaceful dreams… usually involving Faith.

Despite her sheltered life, Angelica wasn't stupid and she knew exactly what all this was. Because without even realising it, this had snuck up on her, caught her right when she least expected it. This wasn't what she intended to happen to begin with, not at all. But being around Faith, it changed things, both within Angelica herself and with her outside life. And they were changes she liked, changes she wanted to see more of.

Because somewhere along the line, Angelica had fallen completely and undeniably in love with Faith.

Now all she had to do was find a way to tell all this to Faith.

ooooOOOOoooo

Girlish giggles: 124

Shrieking laughter: 112

Running footsteps: 59

Cry of 'oh my God!': 211

That was how Faith had been keeping herself _busy_ since she had gotten back home. Keeping a tally of the ever growing sounds she could hear coming from the band of annoying-as-hell Slayer wannabe's. When they were training, they were ok. Quite a few of them were good fighters and they were slowly becoming a proper little army. It was when training time was over and they were back to simply being teenage girls when the fun really began.

It wasn't like she'd slept much, or had anyone disturb her personally, thankfully. For whatever reason, Buffy and her little Scoobie gang hadn't said a word to her since she stomped through the door in the early hours of the morning, simply leaving her alone up in her room. And considering it had been so early in the morning when Faith had got back, and it was getting towards the later hours of the night now, she hadn't slept at all. That's because the last place Faith had woken up had been in Angelica's room with the young girl asleep in her arms.

Even Faith herself had to admit it never took much to persuade her to stay the night on Angelica's part. One little sad smile, coupled with the hopeful pleading behind those captivating blue eyes of hers, and Faith would do pretty much anything Angelica asked. No one had ever held that much power over Faith, man or woman. She was the one in control, always had been. But suddenly, along comes this gorgeous young girl, and everything changes.

When she went over to Angelica's, she was always hoping that she would be asked to stay, just so she could simply lie there with this girl in her arms. If a girl ever asked Faith to bed, or more like _when_, she usually did everything she could to end up in the girl's pants as well. But not with Angelica. With Angelica, she was simply happy to just lie by her side, watching her sleep. And that was something very new to Faith, something she wasn't sure she entirely understood. Although there was that little voice buried deep in the back of her head that told her why she did those things.

Her connection to Angelica.

Faith had had plenty of physical connections with women, that was for sure. But she had never felt the kind of emotional connection she did when she was with Angelica. And whatever it was, it went beyond just being able to feel the young girl's emotions. She was actually bothered when she was in pain. That had a lot more to do with Angelica herself than anything else. The more time Faith spent with Angelica, the more she realised she valued, even needed, the girls presence in her life.

Which is why, when she began to get one of her now amazingly common migraines, Faith was up and out of the house before anyone could ask where she was going.

ooooOOOOoooo

Angelica waited patiently on the outskirts of the cemetery, her thick coat wrapped tight around her body to stave off the harsh wind. She'd been successful in getting out of her house, but had so far been waiting half and hour for Faith to show up, and was worried just how long it would be before her father realised she was gone. She was about a minute away from giving up completely when:

"Haven't we already had the conversation about the do's and don'ts of Sunnydale life?" Angelica spun to find Faith behind her, leaning casually against the perimeter wall. "And one of the big don'ts was wandering around cemeteries alone after dark."

"Well hello to you too, Faith," Angelica quipped with a wide smile.

"What happened to the frightened little girl my migraine told me to expect to find?"

"She doesn't have your cell number, so she figured throwing emotions at you was the only way to get in touch."

"Come on then. I'll walk you home and we'll see if we can't fix that, Angel."

Taking Angelica's smaller, softer hand in her own, Faith gently pulled her alongside her, the pair of them walking towards Angelica's place in that comfortable silence they so often fell into. As they walked, Faith dug her hand into Angelica's pocket, making her gasp as she pulled out her phone. A few seconds and button clicks later, Faith handed Angelica her phone back.

"Problem solved," Faith smiled at Angelica, making her laugh back.

Their silence continued as they walked, only the closer they got to Angelica's house, the more it was out of nervousness for her. She had 'called' Faith her because she had to tell her… but now, the strength she thought she had moments ago was slowly waning with each step she took closer to her home. All she could think about was what her father would say. He had been a controlling figure all her life, and that went all the way to her choice of guys. She'd pretty much not been allowed to date full stop, her dad having scared off any guy who had shown the slightest bit of interest in her. She was absolutely terrified of what he would say if he found out the person she wanted to be with now was a woman.

Before Angelica knew it, she and Faith were standing outside her front door. The walk was over, Faith was gonna say goodnight, and if she didn't say anything now, she was gonna lose the chance she had made herself.

Looking up at Faith, Angelica could see her about to speak. It was now or never.

"Faith," Angelica began, trying to summon up that courage again. "There was actually a… well, quite an important reason I wanted to call you out tonight."

"Really," Faith said, trying to make it sound like she had no idea what Angelica was talking about. But in reality, she had been waiting for this since they had started walking back. Sometimes she thought that Angelica forgot that Faith could read her emotions, often knew what she was thinking. She had felt the turmoil of different emotions that had been racing through Angelica's mind, and she pretty much knew what was coming next.

"Well… yeah," Angelica continued, her gaze landing on anything but Faith. "It's just that… lately I've been thinking… well, I thought… I mean… I… I just…." Angelica took a deep breath, trying to calm her stuttering. It had taken her ages to get over her nervous stutter around Faith, and here it was back again, all because she wanted to say three little words to the girl in front of her. If only she knew that Faith actually found it adorable.

"I was actually thinking about you and me… about us… together," Angelica continued. "Ever since I met you, so much in my life has changed. I guess I'm… well, I got a lot more confidence, I'm not so scared of everything anymore, and for the first time ever I don't actually hate my life. And I know all that is because of you."

Faith said nothing. She didn't know what to say. She should have just stopped her, made an excuse and left before Angelica said any more. But she couldn't do that to her, and not just because Buffy and Willow thought it was best if she stayed on Angelica's good side. She did actually feel something for the girl, and she didn't want to hurt her. But what was she gonna do once Angelica had finished and said what she knew she was gonna say.

"I… God, this is hard," Angelica said, shuffling her feet. "I know what I wanna say, I just can't say it. I've never done this before. I've never even felt the urge to. But now, with you… this is different. I don't know when things changed, when all this started, I just know they have, and…. You see, the thing I'm trying to tell you Faith is that… I like you… a lot… like more than just a friend. I mean, I think I might actually… I think I love you."

Silence. That's what Angelica's confession was met with. She didn't dare look up for fear of what she might see written on Faith's face.

After what felt like an eternity of a silence so dense it was almost deafening, Angelica had to look up. And when she did, she didn't see what she had expected to from Fai8th. No look at deep shock at such a horrifying revelation from her, or even the ever hopeful look of pure elation at hearing something she had only dreamt of. Instead, she was staring intently at the ground, a look of resigned sorrow in her eyes. The kind of look you get when you hear news you're expecting but really don't want to hear. And all this tinged with… embarrassment, only this wasn't for herself. She was embarrassed for Angelica.

And that was when the reality of the situation hit for Angelica.

"Oh my God," she said softly, making Faith look up as Angelica's eyes flooded with tears. "I can be so stupid sometimes. Because you… you knew. You knew what I was feeling probably long before I did. And you just think… you don't…." Angelica broke off, the tears now choking up the back of her throat as well.

"Angelica, I'm…." Faith began, about to tell all, when her phone rang. Faith turned her back on Angelic and dug her phone out, not sure if this distraction was a blessing or not, to see Buffy's number flashing across the screen.

"Yeah," she said in monotone, and listened as Buffy reminded her that she had promised to take the Potentials out to train tonight. "Ok, B, I'm on my way," she finished, disconnecting the line.

Taking a deep breath, Faith turned, ready to tell Angelica they needed to postpone this conversation and give herself more time to think, only to find Angelica had left, just catching the door clicking closed. Watching it blankly for a minute, Faith finally headed back down off Angelica's porch.

Now what was she gonna do?

ooooOOOOoooo

AN:- Ok, third and finally chapter for the day. So, what do you guys think of it so far?


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